How to get a prescription for generic meds?

[snjt]

Having visited a couple of GPs in two different clinics here, I fell under impression that they only dispense branded medication at their clinics instead of writing a prescription slip (as doctors do in Canada).

While that's ok if I just got a respiratory infection, it might get ridiculously expensive if I need to take some meds, say, for a year. I wonder if there's a route to get a prescription instead and then just go to a pharmacy that dispenses generics? Will any GP do that or I better go to a less fancy clinic first?

Cheers

[lighthse003]

Unlike where you come from, Private doctors here have medicines in their clinics, so they lose money to other parties if you get medicine from other sources. Some unknown numbers of private doctors have non branded generic medicine.This is an issue of the large sector of private medical care of HK.

[shri]

You can walk into virtually any pharmacy and get most meds. And then there is Fanda, which seems to have an unlimited supply of pretty much everything.

No need for prescriptions for generic and most meds.

The whole doc supplied meds thing is done at a huge markup.

Our doc doses not really charge for meds. We pay him $100ish per visit which includes a good consult and generics like paracetamol etc.

[spode]

My insurance will reimburse meda bought at a registered pharmacy via prescription.

It will not reimburse for any meds provided/billed by my doctor - those need to be included in the basic visit fee, which is capped.

[MerMer]

When I was new here and thought prescriptions were necessary, I had a local doctor write me a prescription and got it filled at a pharmacy. Now I just go to any old dispensary and buy them over the counter.

[Pauljoecoe]

If you are happy to queue up at a local clinic you will get meds for free. A General Doctor appointment will cost $50 but if they prescribe meds as a result of your consultation they will be included. My experience is that if you go in and tell them what your issue is they will happily wrote a prescription and then you just walk to the counter in the same centre to collect the meds. The down side is getting an appointment and then waiting in line to see the doctor which can take up to an hour.

I am on regular medications and they were very expensive at my private clinic but I got a referral to the government hospital specialist and now I just pay $80 for 5 months of meds.